


A Night of Slow Dance

by eli_the_aro



Series: Dances for Two [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: (its odin), Anyways, Elise and Sakura by name in passing, Invisible Kingdom | Revelation Route, M/M, and dancing but it's fluffy dancing, anyways this is just gay fluff because im a nerd so enjoy!, corrin is nonbinary, so is robin but they're just mentioned in passing, there's like 1 more character i mention but he isnt named, this is just fluff, wait i also mention Azura and Shigure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 22:43:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7732675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eli_the_aro/pseuds/eli_the_aro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>When he spun back around and his partner took his free hand, he really looked at Laslow. His bright smile, the joyously closed eyes, the flushed cheeks from exertion, and when he started laughing in delight, opening his eyes before he smiled softly at his liege then resuming his giddy laughter, Xander felt his stomach drop. He felt the tips of his ears grow warm and his feet felt clumsy and awkward again as he attempted to follow Laslow's guidance. His heart was beating too loud in his ears, and the only words in his head were "Oh no, I like Laslow.” He felt his ears flush further as he looked back at Laslow before the man grinned and slipped an arm behind his back, his internal panic only growing, which was as masked as well as he could manage while panting and smiling, and when he felt Laslow dip him to the end beat of the song, he felt his heart stop.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Night of Slow Dance

**Author's Note:**

> there's no sinning here but i hope you all enjoy it anyways!!

Xander sat to the side, watching Corrin and Sakura weave their way through the mob of people on the ballroom floor, most who were there moving to the beat of the music playing at a nice level while the group’s singer accompanied gently. He smiled slightly at the sight, watching his younger sibling dance in a rather energetic way with the shy Hoshidan princess who seemed to be struggling to keep up. He sat back in his seat, sipping idly on a glass of water before a movement to the side of him caused him to tense, looking over with his hand attempting to rest on Siegfred, which was not there due to the nature of the event. He relaxed when he saw a breathless Laslow beside him. He lowered his hands into his lap, looking over at the grey-haired man beside him. He opened his mouth to speak before his retainer smiled in a slightly shy manner.

“Sorry about startling you, milord,” he said, running a hand through his hair. He leaned back into his own chair as his expression turned into a questioning look. “But why is it you’ve been sitting here the entire gala?” Xander looked out of the sea of people and bit his lip slightly before catching himself and looking back at his retainer.

“I…” he paused, before the thought occurred that he was talking to his trusted retainer and he shook his head lightly, swallowing a shallow laugh. “To tell truth, Laslow, I’m a rather bit nervous of stumbling and embarrassing myself, King of Nohr, in front of all these people.” He did chuckle a bit now, looking once again towards the dance floor. “It’s a bit silly now that I saw it aloud, isn’t it?” He turned in confusion when he felt Laslow grip his arm. “Hm?”

“Milord, I understand entirely, trust me, but you need to learn to let go of that, think, if you make a mistake while dancing, people will find you more human- ah, before you go saying that people like to have ‘perfect’ kings and queens, it’s also nice to see them act like we as common folk would. It makes you more relatable.” He grinned then, and Xander felt the urge to bite his lip. He refrained and was about to rebuke his retainer when he continued. “Also, sitting over here brooding all the time must get dull, milord. You need to live a little! Have some fun,” he said as he stood up, holding out a hand, smiling in a softer manner at his liege than usual, and Xander felt a twist in his stomach. He attributed it to having not eaten in a while and sighed before taking Laslow’s hand.

Laslow led him into the crowd which was less dense than he believed before he took his hands and paused. “Do you want to lead, milord, or shall I?” he asked with a tilt of his head as they stood amidst the throes of people dancing to the current song, a slow waltz.

“You, please. You’re a much better dancer than I, so I feel like following you will be easier than trying to lead steps I don’t quite remember,”Xander said, positioning his hands properly for the “woman’s” role in a dance. Laslow smiled at him and set his own hands in their place, the hand on his hip feeling just a little too warm.

“Alright then, milord, as you wish,” he said before closing his eyes and humming, stepping into the beat as Xander followed clumsily, looking down at his feet to ensure he was doing the motions right. Laslow briefly opened an eye and chuckled lightly at Xander before adding light instructions to his humming. “Just follow my lead, milord.” He breathed out. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, one, two...”

Xander watched his retainer’s feet carefully, imitating their motions as best he could until they became familiar. As his skill increased, he realized his own breathlessness, and the happiness bubbling lightly in his chest, and he began to laugh breathlessly. Laslow’s breath hitched and Xander looked up from his feet. He was met with the reddened face of his retainer and he startled when he tripped, a behavior uncommon in the man. He frowned.

“Laslow, are you alright?” he asked, brow furrowing. “You’re always so graceful, I’ve honestly never seen you trip, so I fear something is horribly wrong…” It was then that his retainer chuckled nervously, and Xander’s expression grew considerably more concerned.

“I’m fine, milord! Just peachy, I’m perfect! Ha ha…” Laslow spoke with overly cheerful voice, which Xander immediately recognized as fake. His frown deepened.

“Are you sure?” he asked before pausing. “Wait, your face is red,” Laslow’s face brightened a shade, “have you been overexerting yourself? You should know better, just tell me if you need to sto-”

“No! Please, this is great! I don’t want to stop!” Laslow interjected, sounding to be on the brink of panic. At Xander’s dubious look he grinned nervously and spoke again. “I haven’t been overexerting myself in the slightest milord! Nor am I catching a fever, before you ask, I swear. Just... Let’s keep dancing! I like dancing!” he said, biting his lip. Xander looked dubious for a moment more before sighing.

“Fine, just, tell me if you need to stop for any reason, Laslow, alright?” When his retainer nodded he smiled lightly before looking down at his feet again, prompting a laugh from Laslow.

“Milord, you may want to look up at _some_ point,” he laughed, and Xander chuckled.

He missed the duo watching from across the room, the one poking her friend with a smile as she said “Inigo owes me dinner since I called it like, months ago," while her friend sighed and handed her a small bag of coins.

…

They had since gone from waltz, to a multitude of other dances which Laslow led him through with ease, and over time he learned to keep his head up while learning a new dance, much to Laslow’s delight. They were currently dancing at a fast pace, a movement taking a second or less before moving on, and Xander laughed as he was spun around quickly before he spun back, back lightly hitting Laslow's chest. When he spun back around and his partner took his free hand, he really looked at Laslow. His bright smile, the joyously closed eyes, the flushed cheeks from exertion, and when he started laughing in delight, opening his eyes before he smiled softly at his liege then resuming his giddy laughter, Xander felt his stomach drop. He felt the tips of his ears grow warm and his feet felt clumsy and awkward again as he attempted to follow Laslow's guidance. His heart was beating too loud in his ears, and the only words in his head were "Oh no, I like Laslow.” He felt his ears flush further as he looked back at Laslow before the man grinned and slipped an arm behind his back, his internal panic only growing, which was as masked as well as he could manage while panting and smiling, and when he felt Laslow dip him to the end beat of the song, he felt his heart stop. Laslow quickly pulled him back up, looking horribly embarrassed and panicked.

"Oh god, milord, I'm _so_ sorry, I didn't mean to do that, I was lost in the dance,god that was so unprofessional-"

"I-it's fine Laslow, just fine. I'm great, and dancing with you was great..." Xander mentally swore at the stutter that had cropped up, and he desperately hoped Laslow wouldn't notice his pink ears. Laslow looked concerned, but his panic seemed to have melted away.

"Xander," he began, and Xander bit his lip at the sound of his retainer, of _Laslow_ calling him by his name. "Are you alright?"

"I'm j-just dandy," he mentally cursed again at his stutter and at his uncommon use of a word. "Just fine, Laslow. Anyways, dancing really made me hungry so I'm going to go to the refreshments table, I’ll return soon," he said quickly before speed-walking to the refreshments table, just barely resisting the urge to put his head in his hands. He almost did when he caught sight of an overly smug-looking Corrin. He sighed deeply as he grabbed a small entree and a glass of water, watching Corrin approach him from his periphery.

"Sooo, big brother," they drawled, looking much too giddy and smug for Xander's liking. "I see you've finally caught on to your feelings for Las-" They were interrupted by a groan from Xander.

"Please don’t, little prince... I'm still figuring things out myself, I have little need for your teasing right now while I'm attempting to understand the origin of these feelings and how to disguise them from Laslow..." he sighed deeply and Corrin narrowed their eyes.

"Why would you need to hide your feelings from Laslow?" they questioned, tilting their head to the side.

"He'd never feel the same. He's so blatantly entranced by women, not at all interested in men..." Xander sighed again. "I don't want to strain our relationship and make him uncomfortable." Xander looked to the side, sipping at his drink to avoid eye contact. Corrin rolled their eyes and snorted.

"Xander, you're such a proper idiot," they laughed and Xander's frown grew. "The two of you are so oblivious, honestly..." they moved around to sling an arm across Xander's back. "Give yourself a little slack, and if you just phrase it as "hey I kinda might like you a little more than I should," that makes it seem less intense even if he doesn't feel the same way. Then it'll be easy to brush it off as a passing crush and move on,” they offered, poking him in the side with their free hand. He looked dubious. They laughed. 

“Big brother, trust me on this, alright? As much as I like messing around with you, I also simply want you to be as happy as possible.” They moved their other arm so that they could hug him. “You deserve the best, Xander, and I’m sure Camilla, Elise, and Leo all think the same, alright? Now go back over, it looks like he’s brooding over by Selena.” They laughed and let go of him before pushing him in Laslow’s general direction. He glared, but Corrin just giggled, shooing him off.

“Fine, but only because that frown looks so out of place on him, not by your direction,” he called back, smiling, and Corrin covered their mouth with a hand, shoulders shaking.

…

Xander eventually made his way over to his retainer, but when he reached him, he saw Laslow’s head in his hands as he spoke to Selena. Xander paused, waiting for their conversation to end before he interrupted.

“Laslow, _you_ owe _me_ dinner, I totally called it three months ago and you know it. Odin already paid up, so I expect you to take me out to someplace nice in the next week,” the redhead boasted, grinning from ear to ear while Laslow sighed heavily. Xander frowned, wondering what was going on, ignoring the slight twist of his chest at the mention of dinner between the two.

“Selena, I know that, I understand I owe you a nice dinner, but I’m currently having a crisis so moral support would be nice since I didn’t even know this was possible,” Laslow groaned, putting his head on Selena’s shoulder. She patted his back in a comforting manner, and Xander felt his chest squeeze lightly with jealousy. He looked away, and was about to walk away when Selena spoke again.

“Laslow, anything’s possible, you of all people should know that what with all we’ve been through, you, Odin, and I. Your personal identity crisis currently is nothing compared to the Risen and you know it. Anyways, don’t you remember Tharja? She didn’t care about who she fell in love with either, as long as it was Robin,” she laughed. “I mean, hell, she ended up following Robin anywhere, even after they married Sumia. And you know exactly what Robin was like when it came to gender. The same thing's goin’ on with Corrin,” Laslow laughed slightly and Xander bit his lip.

“Yeah, I do… Thanks, Sev.” Laslow smiled softly at her, and Xander felt his stomach churn uncomfortably. He looked away again.

“Alright, now go out and get ‘em, Ini!” she said with a laugh as she pushed Laslow towards Xander, whom promptly caught the stumbling man. Selena cackled as she walked away from her sputtering friend and Xander.

“I-I… Um, th-that wasn’t me, Sev- Selena p-pushed me, I-I’m so sorr-”

“No, no, it was my f-fault, d-don’t worry about it!” Xander coughed in an attempt to mask his stutter. It took more effort than he thought it would to stop himself from biting his lip and he forced a smile at Laslow. He saw Laslow’s own smile, which was equally forced. Then Laslow laughed lightly, and Xander felt his ears flush.

“W-well, Milord, shall we...” He paused looking down and to the side, biting his lip before nervously looking back up at Xander through his bangs. “Shall we dance?” Xander felt his heart skip a beat at that, _god_ he was so in love, how had he missed what was in front of him all this time? He looked back down at Laslow with a soft smile.

“I would like nothing more,” he murmured, and he hoped his eyes didn’t betray too much. Laslow smiled in the same manner at him, a light blush coating his cheeks. The upbeat song the band was playing came to a close, and a new voice rung out from the stage.

“Hello everyone! It’s me, Corrin, ruler of Valla! How are you enjoying the gala I’ve set up here in the newly restored Valla castle?!” the silver-haired person called out. There was a chorus of cheers in response. They grinned. “Wonderful! Now, I’d like to ask my lovely cousin and her darling son to join me on this stage! Azura, Shigure, if I may ever so kindly ask you to sing a lovesong for all the couples out there,” they said, looking a bit smug as they winked in Xander’s direction. He just barely restrained a curse in Corrin’s direction. Azura looked equally smug as she walked up, and Xander was able to tell in a heartbeat Corrin had planned this. Shigure looked happy, but a bit nervous, so he wasn’t in on the plan it, seemed. Xander sighed lightly in slight relief, then gave Laslow a nervous smile.

“So, Laslow... Care to dance with me?” he asked, hands already in the following position, and the grey haired man laughed.

“Milord, I believe I asked you that but a moment ago,” he said, starting to lead their movements as the beginning notes of the song rang out, and Xander bit his lip.

“Xander… Call me Xander, Laslow,” he offered quietly, and the light blush Laslow had been harboring deepened, and he bit his lip, looking away from Xander and he led them through the steps, faltering a little despite the slow movements.

“O-oh. O-of course, mi- I-I mean, of c-course X-Xander,” he stuttered out, averting his eyes. Xander looked at his feet as Azura’s voice rang out, clear and stunning as always.

“ _Dusk does not leave with your hand in mine, it’s painted across my cheeks. You always say I’m different, with multicolor hue, and I laugh, my fingers painting something new._ ”

Laslow hummed quietly along with the song and Xander smiled.

“Is this something you know well, Laslow?” Laslow laughed a bit at that, looking off behind Xander in remembrance.

“You could say that…” He smiled in a somber way. “My mother hummed the song a lot while she danced to it, while my father would sing and watch her dance… I suppose it’s one of the things I miss from home,” he offered, voice quiet and sad. Xander felt the urge to kiss him suddenly, but simply tightened his grip on Laslow’s hand and shoulder in consolation.

“I… I’m so sorry to be the one who’s keeping you away from your family,” he said, guilt practically dripping from his words. It was Laslow who tightened his grip this time.

“Milor-... Xander, you are not keeping me away from them at all. I lost them long ago, and… Staying here with you, dancing to their song… I… I think it’s just as lovely…” Laslow whispered, cheeks bright with more than just breathlessness.

“ _You seem to be of a different world, with eyes so bright and warm, but I am no better to you am I, and you smile in a way that makes the dawn seem dull, like a storm._ ”

“Really…?” Xander asked, noticing their closeness suddenly as he felt Laslow’s breath brush his cheeks. They were too close for comfort if he wanted to keep his composure and not kiss his retainer, but he couldn’t bring himself to move at all besides the slow movement of his feet after Laslow’s own.

“Yeah,” Laslow breathed out, face too red for simply dancing.

“ _I should lean a little bit closer to you, so you can feel the dusk on your cheeks, so I can feel the warmth in your lips, love, and my dusk cheeks will mix with your dawn, and we’ll make a midday sky!_ ”

And he leaned down and kissed Laslow, gently so his retainer could pull away if needed. When the hand in his own wrapped around his neck, and the one on his hip migrated to his cheek to caress it, he smiled into the kiss. He moved his now empty hand to Laslow’s hip, and the one that had been on his shoulder to his back. When they finally broke away, more breathless than before, they laughed joyously before Xander leaned down for another kiss.

It was heaven, and he hoped that this feeling would linger forever, that he could court Laslow, that he could have a king beside him to relish in this feeling, this _love_.

 _Their_ love.

Corrin’s whooping and Elise’s happy laughter were just bonuses, but Laslow broke away shyly with a huge blush at Selena’s call of “Get a room, you two!”

“Is this… Okay?” he asked softly, and Laslow smiled gently.

“It’s more than okay,” he whispered, leaning his forehead against Xander’s own. “It’s…”

“Perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> alright yeah im just  
> ok so the "song" azura was singing is just a poem i made for this fic which is why is hardly rhymes at all but i think it's nice anyways, and all the stanzas are 6 lines so hey its all good
> 
> i love xanlas like if anyone wants my tumblr is eli-the-aro.tumblr.com so if u wanna hmu w/ those xanlas headcanons feel free!!!


End file.
